Melting Point
by OlimLamia
Summary: Even though the memories were painful, and he wished he could forget sometimes, he was happy that he had loved Kana, and she him, he didn't want to forget...even if his remembering left him in a state of perpetual snow. TohruXHatori pairing.-NOW COMPLETE-
1. Chapter 1

Thank you Otaku Mom for reading over this chapter ^^ you helped out alot with the spelling at the revisions, i really appreciate it =]

**Disclaimer: **i do not own fruits basket or the characters, they belong to Takaya-sensei ^^ and for good reason too.

**Chapter One:**

Hatori sat at his desk in the clinic thinking back on the painful memories of his lost love, Kana. He knew that he would never get the wonderful days he shared with her back again. So he settled for the small picture frame that sat on the bookshelf across his office; the one Ayame gave him a few months ago to replace the sad-looking, smiling one he had of Kana when they were together. Kana looked truly happy in the new picture. It was her wedding picture and made the pain Hatori felt deep within his heart ache even more. He picked up the picture of Kana, stared at it lovingly for a few minutes, and then walked quietly back to his desk. He opened one of the locked drawers on his desk and gently placed the picture face down. He then placed a stack of papers carefully over it so as not to crack the glass. Afterwards he closed the drawer, locked it, and walked to the window with the key. He opened the window, stared at the key for a few seconds, arched his arm back and threw the key as far as he could into the woods behind his office. He heard the sound of it hitting the water in the small creek. He stood there staring into the darkness, not really looking at anything, for about ten minutes; finally he thought out loud "Well…that puts an end to that. The current has probably moved it pretty far downstream by now…."

He walked back to his desk and placed a hand on the front of the drawer. "It's better this way for you Kana, now you can truly be happy and love someone who never turned into an animal…you won't have to carry the burden of ever loving me…" Hatori thought back to the day Akito hurt his left eye, leaving him pretty much blind on that side. He remembered Akito telling Kana it was all her fault, and Kana…Kana believing him and carrying that burden, thinking that if they had never been in love then Hatori wouldn't have gotten hurt…Kana became weak with depression over time to the point she would always be sitting on their bed huddled in a ball repeating "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry Hatori…if only…if only we never met…I'm sorry…" over and over. Kana's condition worsened over the weeks to the point Hatori was forced to erase Kana's memories of him to save her life. Kana forgot all about Hatori and them ever loving each other…and Hatori was left alone to remember all of the now painful memories of their love. Even though the memories were painful, and he wished he could forget sometimes, he was happy that he had loved Kana, and she him, he didn't want to forget…even if his remembering left him in a state of perpetual snow…never to love anyone the way he had loved Kana ever again….

The phone rang loudly waking Hatori from his restless sleep; he had been dreaming of her again, he sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes drowsily. He reluctantly picked up the phone.

"Hello?" Hatori said sleepily.

"HARI!!!! You sound awful, did you get any sleep? Or were you up all night thinking about me? OH YOU NAUGHTY BOY!" Ugh, it was that stupid dog. He could feel a migraine coming on.

"Shigure…what do you want? It's only 8 in the morning…and on my day off too." Hatori was still half asleep.

"Hari, what's wrong? You're not being your normal sarcastic self…you actually sound like you're being…being…nice." Shigure spoke with disgust as if the thought of Hatori being nice was the grossest thing ever.

"You woke me up at 8 in the damn morning, I'm half asleep." Hatori was getting more annoyed by the second.

"You mean, you actually sleep!?" Shigure acted as if he were shocked at the thought.

"Shigure, if you have nothing intelligent to say, I'm hanging up." Hatori said while pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Oh yes, I did have a point in calling so early in the morning, our little flower is sick. She fainted from a fever last night and I heard her vomiting later…I'm sure it's just the flu but Kyo and Yuki insisted I call you."

"Is she still conscious?" Hatori was a little worried which shocked him. Ever since erasing Kana's memories, he had never so much as batted an eyelash for anyone's expense, but for some reason, Tohru, a frail clumsy girl, made him worry. She was a little like Kana, but there were a lot of major differences. Kana was much prettier, and did things to get his attention all the time, so he would turn his attention towards her…Tohru didn't like it when the attention was on her, she loved to help everyone but herself, and even on her death bed she would say "I'm fine. I'm sorry to trouble you." And accompany it with one of her famous warm smiles. That's just how she was. But how, how did she get him to worry about her? She wasn't Kana. He knew that she would never love him like Kana did; he didn't even want to have any hope for that happening. He quickly banished that thought and returned his attention to Shigure.

"No, she fell back asleep after she got back from the bathroom and hasn't wakened since. I'm sure she will be okay with a little rest. I mean…she is our little flower; nothing can bring her down!" That, Hatori thought, was the kind of attitude that made Tohru not want to trouble anyone when she was sick. People always believed she was stronger than she actually was because she always smiled so happily, no matter what the circumstances, just to make everyone but herself feel better.

"I'll be there in half an hour." Hatori hung up the phone on Shigure because he didn't want to listen to his babbling anymore. He got out of bed and got dressed; then started to gather the things in his briefcase that he might need to tend to Tohru.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you ****Otaku Mom**** for helping me with the revisions on this story :) **

**Disclaimer: i do not own Fruits Basket or the characters, they belong to Takaya-sensei.**

**Chapter Two:**

When Hatori arrived at Shigure's house, Shigure was waiting at the front door. "HARI YOU ACTUALLY CAME SO FAST!" He said. "Don't tell me you're actually in love with our little flower?! I'm sorry but I won't hand her over to you! She is just too precious to hand over to a dirty man like you."

Hatori just stared at Shigure. His stupid cousin was just joking around when he said the word love, but when he thought about it the word struck him in his heart. His heart began to ache with that familiar pain and confused him; _what was this feeling?_

"WAIT A SECOND HARI; YOU REALLY ARE IN LOVE WITH TOHRU AREN'T YOU?" A wicked grin sliced across Shigure's face.

"No. I'm just astounded with some of the stupid things you can come up with…no wait…everything you think is stupid. And hearing this, coming from you, makes you sound like a pedophile." Hatori quickly walked past his cousin and started to walk up the stairs when he heard whispered arguing.

"Stupid cat, I'll take it to her, if you go in there your loud mouth will wake her up!" said his young cousin, Yuki, the rat.

"Damn rat, like hell I'm gonna let you take it to her; you'll probably pull something dirty and try to take advantage of her while she's out of it" said his other young cousin, Kyo, the cat.

Even though the curse had been broken earlier that year they still referred to one another as the zodiac animals that had once possessed them.

"Kyo, Yuki, knock it off or you are going to wake Tohru. She needs her rest; I will take it in to her." Hatori held out his hands for the bowl of leek soup they were arguing over. "Now, step aside so I can go and examine Tohru." Hatori quickly grabbed the bowl and walked past the feuding teenagers; he opened the door to Tohru's room.

The sound of Yuki and Kyo arguing must have wakened the sick girl because she was clumsily trying to sit up in her bed.

"Don't you dare get up, if you do you will probably just make yourself sicker" said Hatori icily. He busied himself propping Tohru up with her pillows so she could eat the soup while he continued thinking about what Shigure said earlier. He just couldn't fathom how he could be in love with this clumsy, erratic girl.

"H-Hatori…? What are you doing here?" she said dazedly. "Don't tell me Shigure called you on account of a small cold…I'm so sorry…I don't mean to trouble you…" Yep, she was most definitely sick, thought Hatori while looking the girl over.

"Lie still please, so I can examine you Miss Honda." Hatori spoke as he was rummaging for a thermometer in his brief case. He found the thermometer and gently placed it in Tohru's mouth while he began to take her pulse.

"Shigure said he heard you in the bathroom vomiting last night, how long has this been going on?" Tohru flinched at the question which was harsher than necessary. Hatori sighed.

"I-I'm sorry…it's been going on only since last night…I'm sorry…" stammered Tohru looking miserable.

"No need to apologize; I didn't mean to sound so rude." Hatori took the thermometer out of her mouth and examined it. 104.5…she's definitely got a bad case of the flu, thought the doctor. He then took a syringe and a vial of clear liquid out of his brief case and began to fill the syringe.

"W-What's that?" Tohru stammered.

"It's something that will help you rest and feel better." Hatori's voice was emotionless, but his thoughts were far from that. He really couldn't think of why he was dwelling on what that stupid dog said earlier. There was no way he was in love with Tohru.

"This might hurt a bit, I'm sorry."

"It's alright…" She winced a little as the needle pierced her skin. "It doesn't hurt at all." She spoke with a warm smile for Hatori and his heart beat a little faster.

"No, there is no way I'm in love with her…there can't be." He put everything back into his brief case and began to walk out of the room when he heard "H-Hatori…" Tohru's voice was weak as she was beginning to doze.

"Yes? Do you need anything?" asked Hatori, thinking nothing of it.

"N-no…I don't need anything…but…" the girl said hesitantly.

"What is it?" Hatori now felt a bit cautious, he didn't like the tone in her voice, he'd heard it somewhere before.

"I need to tell you something…please don't get mad…" Tohru's words slurred from the medicine taking effect and she sounded a bit sad.

"Miss Honda, you need to rest." Hatori spoke quickly, trying to make his escape.

"P-please just call me Tohru" said the girl shyly.

"Ok…Tohru, you need to rest now." Hatori was even more suspicious and desperate to make his escape. He had definitely heard that tone before.

"Wait…please…I-I need to tell you something…" said the girl coughing at the end of the sentence.

"Ok…what is it…?" He was a bit scared to know.

"Hatori…I hope this doesn't burden you by me saying this…" She was half asleep now…

"Yes…?"

"Hatori…I-I love…you…." The last word slurred as she said it.

"…" Hatori's heart beat like crazy and ached at the same time. He was speechless.

A few seconds later he heard Tohru's light but labored breathing. The girl had fallen asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you Otaku Mom for helping me with all the flaws in my story ^^ you helped me alot :D**

**Disclaimer: i do not own Fruits Basket or the characters, they belong to Takaya-sensei.**

**Chapter Three:**

Hatori stood there staring blankly, trying to gather his thoughts. _Did she really just say…that she…she…loved--NO! She was barely conscious, she probably thought I was Kyo or Yuki…_He rummaged through his brain trying to think of logical reasons she would have said that to him. _Yeah, she thought I was one of them…_He sighed and hoped that would stop his heart from beating out of his chest, _besides, she won't remember any of this when she gets better, it's because of the fever. _He calmed down a bit, composed his facial expression, and quietly walked out of Tohru's room. He didn't bother saying a word to anyone, he just headed straight for Shigure's front door, got in the car, and drove back home; he was still making excuses in his mind.

A few days passed as Hatori tried to occupy himself; drowning himself in his work so that he wouldn't think about what Tohru said the night he went to take care of her illness. One of his nurses walked into his office, a little skittish due to Hatori's cold behavior toward everyone. "Hatori-sensei, you have a phone call from your cousin, Shigure Sohma." She flinched when Hatori spoke.

"Tell him that I'm busy and will call him back after my work is done." Hatori spoke coldly; he was doing his level best to not talk to anyone from that house for as long as he could manage.

"Y-yes sir." The nurse walked quietly out of the office trying not to make any unnecessary sounds that would result in a scolding from him. Hatori propped his elbow up on his desk, pinched the bridge of his nose, and closed his eyes. He looked as if he was trying to fight off a headache.

A half hour later there was a knock at the door. "Hatori-sensei?" Said the nurse, wary of Hatori.

"Yes?" Hatori spoke curtly.

"I told your cousin that you were busy and that you would call him back, but…" She was cautious when she said the next sentence. "He is now in the waiting room flirting with all of the teenage girls who are here for their check-ups. "

Hatori sighed and told the nurse to send his cousin in. He prepared himself for Shigure's obnoxious behavior.

"HARIIIII!" said Shigure as he walked into the doctor's office; it was louder than necessary and no doubt was causing a bit of gossip between the nurses.

"What is it Shigure? I told the nurse to tell you that I was very busy." Said the doctor coldly; he glared at Shigure in the process.

"Oh Hari, I know you didn't mean that, so…here I am to see my beloved Dr. Sea H---"Shigure was cut off by Hatori.

"You say it and I will tell everyone all of the embarrassing things you have done since the age of four…and I will tell every single woman you meet that you have a contagious STD."

"Hari, how could you be so cruel to your beloved; Aya would never treat me this way. In fact, we just spent a beautiful night together!!!" said Shigure feigning sadness.

"I don't want to know, now, if you don't have any other business with me…I really am busy, could you please leave." Hatori sounded a bit colder than usual.

"Geez Hari, what's got your panties all in a bunch, did you get dumped?! AW POOR HARI, DO YOU WANT ME TO COMFORT YOU?!" Shigure's voice was tinged with even more amusement than normal.

"No, I want you to get out. You are disturbing my work."

"No, wait…I do have something to tell you." The dog got more serious all of a sudden which made Hatori a bit suspicious of his behavior.

"What is it?" said Hatori, hesitating.

"Welllll…if you must know, it's about Tohru." Tohru's name from Shigure's mouth hit Hatori's heart as if it had been struck by a lightning bolt. This was exactly what he was trying to avoid the past few days.

"What about her, is she still not well?" Hatori rapidly regained his composure.

"No, it's nothing like that; it's just that she's been down lately. It's almost as if her mother died all over again." As the dog spoke, Hatori had the urge to smack him very hard over his head. How could he say that so lightly as if it really didn't matter that much? Hatori struggled to control his anger.

"What do you mean?" The doctor's voice was laced with frost.

She hasn't been her normally cheerful self; our poor little Tohru's smile even seems forced the past few days."

"……hm……after I get done with my work I'll drop by and see how she's doing…" Hatori spoke reluctantly; he wasn't sure if he was ready to see her, yet.

"Alright, I will be awaiting your arrival my cold prince" said Shigure dramatically.

After Shigure left, Hatori finished his work as slowly as possible, dragging out as much time as he could before having to go to Shigure's. He looked at the clock; it was 10 p.m. and he had no more work to do. He stood up slowly, still dragging his feet. He walked to the coat hanger, shrugged his jacket on and buttoned it up. He grabbed his brief case, gathered the rest of his things, locked his office doors, and hesitantly headed toward Shigure's in his car.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you Otaku Mom for all your help on my story :) ^^ you made my story better by fixing the flaws ^^**

**Disclaimer:**** i do not own fruits basket or the characters, they belong to Takaya-sensei.**

**Chapter Four:**

When Hatori arrived at Shigure's house, he was surprised to find that no one was there. "That damn dog," he thought to himself, "he set me up, I bet Tohru isn-" His thoughts were immediately cut off when his eyes landed on a sullen Tohru sitting on the couch as if she was watching TV, but she was completely out of it as if she was day dreaming.

"Tohru?" Hatori spoke aloud but she didn't seem to hear him.

"Tohru…?" he said a bit louder, she still didn't seem to notice.

"TOHRU!" he was almost yelling her name when she snapped out of her daze and looked at him as if he had struck her.

"H-H-Hatori…?" W-what are y-you doing here?" she stuttered.

"Shigure called and told me he thought you might be getting sick again because you haven't been your normal self." He didn't want to take it out on her and tried to hide his edginess at being set up by Shigure. He wasn't successful and came out sounding rather curt.

"…I'm fine" she said and struggled to compose her face into a smile. Shigure was right; you really can tell she is forcing it.

"Tohru, what's wrong?" He could see she was on the verge of tears and wondered at the cause. He knew it couldn't have been because of his reaction to the night before, she was barely conscious…surely she wasn't able to remember anything. "I'm sorry; did I say something to offend you?"

"No…I-it's nothing…I just have something in my eye." She swiped viciously at her eyes as if by wiping them, it would stop her from crying.

"If you tell me, it might make you feel better" Hatori suggested. He was growing more concerned by the minute which irritated him to no end.

"I-I'm so-so sorry" she stumbled out between sobs.

"What on earth should you be sorry for?" asked the doctor a bit confused.

"I didn't want to burden you…I didn't mean for my confession to make you stay away from your family…I'm so sorry…" she said still sobbing.

"…" Hatori couldn't say anything.

"I'm sorry…it just hurt so much…I thought if I were to confess to you…it wouldn't hurt anymore…I'm sorry…I'm so sorry to have burdened you." She said crying even harder as she forced the last word out.

Hatori didn't know what was happening, all at once his heart began beating against his chest as if it were going to jump into her arms, and his chest ached so bad…he was beginning to realize…no matter how much he wanted to deny it…she was in love with him…and…he her…

"Don't cry…" He took a cautious step towards her, his feet moved of their own accord. "It's no burden…" He didn't know what he was saying; he hadn't been able to sleep for many a night because of her confession, his mind running through all the possible ideas that would confirm the fact that she didn't know it was him she was talking to because of the fever.

He could no longer deny it. She was perfectly healthy and fully conscious of what she was saying and to whom she was saying it.

"B-but you haven't been coming around as much anymore…and Shigure had told me…that maybe it was because of my confession…" she sniffled and started crying again.

_I knew it_, he thought. _That damn dog had something to do with this, the conniving bastard_.

"No, it had nothing to do with you confession, I was busy with work." He lied. It had everything to do with her.

She slowly began to stop crying.

She wiped her eyes and began to stand up, "Now what's wrong?" Her sudden movement startled him.

"I-I'm really sorry, I know you're lying to make me feel better, thank you, I just…just had to get that off of my chest and tell you, even though I knew there was no way you would ever love me back…I mean…look at me…I'm ordinary and plain." She said sadly.

He looked her over and realized how utterly beautiful she actually was. He took in her messy hair pulled back into a sloppy ponytail that made her look really cute. He looked at her baggy blue with pink polka dotted pj's and smiled. "I am looking." He spoke before he realized what was coming out of his mouth and that shocked him. "You are very beautiful." He spoke again without thinking and his eyes widened as the words came out of his mouth.

Tohru stood there staring at him in shock. "W-w-what did you say?" the words stumbled out.

"…" he couldn't repeat what he said, but his legs started moving on their own again; before he knew it he was standing in front of her. He lifted her chin gently and looked into chocolate brown eyes full of confusion.

"Tohru…I don't know what this is…but…I think I might be in love with you…" he said sadly.

"…" It was Tohru's turn to be speechless, she wasn't expecting this development.

"Hatori…are you sick?" She lifted her hand to his forehead and found it surprisingly cool.

"I think I might be" he said. He leaned in closer, closed the distance between them, and pressed his lips to her soft ones. As they parted Hatori thought _I shouldn't be doing this, it's wrong…_Then Tohru hugged him and laid her head on his chest.

"I don't know what to do. I don't want you to end up like Kana." A tear began to run down his face and Tohru looked up, wiped it away, and showed it to him. He stared at the tear for what seemed like forever, and then realization hit.

"Tohru, I think the snow is melting." He leaned his head against hers and she hugged him tightly.

"Your eternal winter is becoming spring again." At her words, Hatori looked down and kissed her gently.

"I think you're right…my heart is finally melting." He pulled her down on the couch cradling her firmly against his chest. They fell asleep on the couch in that position even as Hatori admitted "_Tohru is my spring. I can finally be truly happy again. My winter is finally becoming spring."_

-------------------------------------Later that Night/Day-----------------------------

Shigure walked into the living room cautiously and saw that Tohru and Hatori had fallen asleep on the couch. Tohru lay with her head on Hatori's chest and his arms encircled her waist. He grinned wickedly and walked up to Hatori's ear. After poking him awake, he whispered in his ear "Hari, you pervert, you stole my little flower, and I so wanted to help her bloom into a beautiful maiden." Shigure's dramatization made Hatori blush.

He hissed "What are you talking about you damn dog…" and then he realized Tohru was asleep on his chest. He blushed even more deeply and laid Tohru gently on the couch. He did his best not to wake her. He started to walk away slowly but then heard Yuki and Kyo arguing as they approached closer and closer. Hatori began to panic when he saw the smirk on Shigure's face.

"Oh no…don't you dare you damn dog." Hatori's eyes had a deadly look and Shigure backed off just a little.

"Oh no, I would never dream of it…or would I?" Shigure took a deep breath and yelled "HARI IS A PERVERT, PERVERT. HE STOLE OUR FLOWERS INNOCENCEEEEE!!!!!"

Hatori snapped and began running after Shigure. "Shigure, get your ass back here so I can kill you and sell you to the Chinese so they can eat your body parts. I hear dog legs sell nicely at this time. "Hatori continued to yell as he pulled closer to his cousin. He stopped short when Shigure leaped a fence.

Shigure stopped a safe distance away with the fence between him and his irate cousin. His face took on a serious look. "I'm glad you found your spring."

**Fin;**


End file.
